A significant number of former members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have declared their withdrawal from the CCP since the Epoch Times began publishing a series of articles on the CCP, Nine Commentaries on the CCP, three weeks ago.

The nine commentaries, which have revealed the true nature of the CCP and have been widely read, especially among Chinese, have brought a dilemma and fears to CCP. For more than two weeks now, Beijing’s state-run media has remained silent on the publication, fearing that openly slamming or banning it would help it to spread even more widely. A source in mainland China says that the government doesn’t know how to react.

1000 Former Communists Declared their Withdrawals within Eight Days

The Epoch Times set up a withdrawal-signature web site on December 3rd for CCP members. In just eight days, over 1000 people have used this site to declare that they are quitting the communist party, league, or young pioneers’ team. Daily signatures peaked at 200, many of which are from mainland China.

Over the past few years, Party members have been continually quitting as these former Communists became disillusioned with the CCP, as has been evidenced by sporadic declarations of withdrawal posted on web sites both in China and overseas. The present wave of withdrawals, however, is unprecedented and has drawn widespread attention.

The former communists who have just declared their withdrawals are from all around the world. Many cities and provinces in China, such as Beijing, Jiangsu, Shenyang, Zhejiang, Wuhan, Hunan, Chengdu, Shandong, Guangdong, Shanxi, Liaoning, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Shanghai are home to former CCP members that have just withdrawn from the party. Overseas regions and countries include the North Americas, Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand.

Many Consider Quitting the Party after Reading the Nine Commentaries

Many quitters have explained in their declarations that they had been talked into joining the Party, most of the group giving this explanation was born during the Cultural Revolution. Older communists reported that most joined the Party because they believed in the communist ideals. The subsequent political movements including the Cultural Revolution and the widespread corruptions within the Party have cast doubts about the communist ideals among members of the older generations and thus they have begun to waver and have eventually lost confidence in the CCP. The youth and the students nowadays join the Party largely for self-interest and better careers.

In fact, all those who have declared their withdrawals in this wave, regardless of their motives, have sent a similar message: they have, all of a sudden, realized the evil nature of the CCP after reading the nine commentaries, and they attribute their awakening to the nine commentaries.

Some non-members wrote after reading the nine commentaries that they felt lucky that they had not joined the Party.

Mr. Huang Jianming, a reader from China’s Henan Province, wrote in his withdrawal statement, "the Nine Commentaries on the CCP published by The Epoch Times explained the evil nature of the CCP with facts. A moral corruptor, the CCP brings out the evil in humans and replaces their humanity with violence. It fools kind people with lies and tries to lure them into its ranks, and then indoctrinate their minds. It calls these people’s original kindness and integrity a result of their education so as to deceive more people. I am one such person. The nine commentaries have awakened me and I can’t keep silent any more. I must announce to the public: I quit the Party!"

Mr. Yang Xin, a reader from China’s northern city Harbin, has this to say in his withdrawal statement, “I’ve read a lot of overseas information about the CCP’s corruption, and thought I knew the CCP already. Only after reading the Epoch Times’ Nine Commentaries on the CCP did I realize how evil the CCP truly is. Though no longer a communist, I’d like to declare openly and solemnly my withdrawal from the big evil cult of the CCP. I also want to ask those who are still members of the CCP to do some soul-searching and ask yourselves if you truly believe in communism. Are you fooling yourself? I hope you, too, will act quickly with courage and conscience, and abandon this evil party.”

The Nine Commentaries: Catalyst For a Spiritual Movement

“Under CCP rule, workers have been laid off; corrupt officials are as greedy as tigers and wolves; justice is not upheld; police and city administrators are arrogant and wild; farmers are under-clothed and starving; truth is covered with lies; the evil gangs have lost their minds and their consciences have evaporated; as people awaken, the evildoers are more and more anxious; when the time finally comes for retribution, they shall stagger into hell.” This is probably the true picture of the sentiments of those ruled by the CCP.

The CCP’s 80-plus year history is infused with lies, wars, famines, dictatorships, slaughters, and fears. Under the CCP’s rule of violence and lies, today’s China is ravaged by natural as well as man-made disasters. Its people have been suffering so much that they can tolerate no more. Social unrests and rebellions erupt one after another and on an increasing scale. The CCP is faced with imminent crisis and is at its wit’s end.

On the brink of the CCP’s demise, The Epoch Times published the Nine Commentaries on the CCP for the purpose of helping people see through its evil nature by comprehensively reflecting upon and exposing its true face, purge the communist remnants within themselves, break away from the control of the communist evil specter, turn away from fear, and to abandon all illusions about the communist party so that they may rediscover their true selves and become men with dignity and freedom in a new era.

Right now, the nine commentaries are finding their way to readers across the globe through media outlets such as websites, newspapers, radios, and television. As the nine commentaries touch more hearts, the Chinese will have stronger and stronger desires to free themselves from the CCP. This can be seen in the current wave of withdrawals from Party membership. How to put the communist party in perspective and how to evolve into a society without communists have become pertinent issues to be by the Chinese people. We may predict that in a not too distant future we will be in for a wave of profound reflections on a range of issues, including ethics, conscience, human nature, recent history, and traditional culture, etcetera.

Dr. Chen Kuide, president of China Society at Princeton University, and editor in chief for the website Observation, believes that the Nine Commentaries on the CCP will leave its mark in China’s spiritual, ideological, and political histories. People will find in the future that this is the beginning of another major spiritual movement in human history.

The Global Distribution of the Nine Commentaries

According to Epoch Times' statistics from the Chinese internet version, in the three weeks since the nine commentaries were published, each commentary has been hit about 100,000 times, with a total of one million hits for all nine. These statistics do not include those of other websites that carry the articles.

The Epoch Times newspaper is distributed in over 100 major cities in more than 30 countries, with a weekly distribution of over 800,000 copies. If one copy is read by three readers on average, it is estimated that within three weeks there would be eight million people who have read the nine commentaries worldwide. To meet reader demand, The Epoch Times published extra copies of the nine commentaries on December 5, and quickly reached all corners of the world through its global distribution network.

In Hong Kong, within two or three hours of printing, the first 60,000 extra copies of the commentaries were all distributed. With its unique geographic advantage, Hong Kong has seen a frequent back and forth travels to mainland China and therefore serves as an information conduit. Obviously, China will feel the impact as the nine commentaries were freely published in Hong Kong.

Another source revealed that Sound of Hope, a non-profit radio station, has broadcast the nine commentaries into China on short wave Radio. New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) is allocating its prime time to read the nine commentaries to its viewers. Broad Press, a publisher, will soon compile the nine commentaries into a book and distribute it all over the world.

Many web users in China have read and downloaded the nine commentaries from Dongtai website, and circulated them among their friends and family. Overseas readers have taken it upon themselves to send the commentaries into China through e-mail.

The Dilemma for the CCP

According to unnamed sources, Internet salons in Beijing have recently received instructions from authorities that internet cafes with over 30 computers must install monitoring cameras. Instead of using the cafe staff, the government shall send its personnel to watch the video feed. Those found viewing the Epoch Times website and other banned sites will be punished. In the Internet cafes in Beijing, internet access to outside world has been thoroughly blocked lately.

In China, anything banned travels quickly and reaches a large audience. According to sources in China, propaganda departments at work places have warned the Party members and staff against reading and accepting information containing “anti-China elements” for “propaganda” purposes. But they never mentioned the nine commentaries specifically. The CCP’s mouthpiece media have kept silent for more than half a month now, fearing that public criticism and an outright ban would boost the spreading of the nine commentaries.

The way the CCP has reacted has aroused curiosity among the people, who have been quietly inquiring about what “propaganda” the CCP is warning about. The mystery over the nine commentaries has indirectly helped its transmission. According to these sources, the nine commentaries, having reached the State Council, ministries, provincial governments, and universities, have inspired many people and created a great impact on the Chinese society.

The sources also had it that some provinces and cities have found flyers that contain information about the nine commentaries and the CCP’s corruptions, as well as a call for withdrawals from the Party and a revolt against the CCP rule. A nervous CCP, while sending secret police to investigate these flyers, has wasted no time in blocking the information, fearing that exposure would trigger a chain reaction against the CCP all over China. Facing an increasingly wider spread and stronger impact of the nine commentaries, the CCP finds itself in a dilemma.

Eliminate Fear and Stand with Honor and Dignity

The fact that the nine commentaries could reach far and wide within such a short time shows that the Chinese people are very eager to understand the CCP thoroughly, find an outlet for their pent-up fears, extricate themselves from suffering, and start new lives.

Not long after the nine commentaries were published, various seminars were held to discuss their implications in cities and regions including Washington, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta, Toronto, Montreal, Australia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. These seminars aimed at unmasking the CCP from social, political, and cultural dimensions and exploring China’s future. Solicitation of Articles in response to the Nine Commentaries, a project sponsored by The Epoch Times, has offered a chance to many who have been persecuted by the CCP to recall and make known their sufferings.

Similar spontaneous events among the people, in addition to deepening the spread and impact of the nine commentaries, could be viewed as efforts of the Chinese who have awakened, to create for themselves a new and free environment without fear. This environment where people dare to think for themselves, speak their minds and spread the truth, will in turn inspire more people to break away from fear, expose the CCP, and purge the communist remnants with greater courage and strength, so as to ultimately shake off the CCP and become men with honor and dignity.

In the words of Mr. Zhang Tianliang, a China specialist, “When more and more people know the truth, it is the CCP, not us, who will be afraid.”